10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Were NOTHING Like The Wrestlers Who Portrayed Them

2. The Miz

vader before and after
WWE.com

A tricky one this, in that The Miz used to be everything he still claims.

A quick through the 'Real World' episodes he featured in paints the picture of a loudmouthed (admittedly good-hearted) douchebag. Forcing his 'gimmick' on absolutely anybody in earshot, Miz was a picture of obnoxiousness wrapped in the shell of a too-youthful-for-his-own-good-superfan with an enormous ego.

The version he'd become on television wouldn't stray too far from it despite limp attempts from the company to first utilise him as a babyface 'host'. It morphed again when he returned from filming WWE movie projects as a deluded Hollywood fool.

Over the last year or so though, it's been utterly impossible to separate the man The Miz has become from the impudent imp that still sh*t-stirs on Raw and Smackdown Live!

A devoted husband and father and every bit the affable man the good-hearted boy was capable of becoming, it's virtually impossible to reconcile the real-life Mike Mizanin with his long-established alter-ego.

Its a credit to his work that many fans have requested another WWE Title run and/or babyface turn in his near future considering the abject failures of both. It highlights that his casting as an under-skilled gobsh*te simply doesn't register any more.

In this post: 
Vader
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett